Pinpoint, a company that says it holds several e-commerce patents, sued Amazon.com on Thursday for allegedly violating its business-method patents.

The suit, filed in the United States District Court in Chicago, also named six of Amazon's affiliated retail partners, including Borders Group, Target, Toys "R" Us and CDNow.

The lawsuit claims that Amazon violated Pinpoint's personalization technology patents--a service popularized by Amazon that allows e-commerce retailers to recommend related products or newer items to shoppers based on their purchase history at the site.

Amazon spokesman Bill Curry said the company had yet to review the suit.